IQVIA beats quarterly estimates on resilient demand for healthcare analytics

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(Reuters) -Contract research firm IQVIA Holdings posted second-quarter profit and revenue above Wall Street expectations on Tuesday, as demand rose for its healthcare data and analytics services, sending shares up around 8% in premarket trading.

IQVIA’s technology and analytics unit, which serves pharmaceutical and consumer health companies, benefited from higher drug approvals by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Still, the company narrowed its annual earnings forecast as drugmakers and biotech companies have been cancelling orders given to contract research firms, in response to the U.S. government’s drug price negotiation program, proposed federal research budget cuts and potential tariffs.

The Trump administration has been considering separate tariffs for the pharmaceutical industry, which could be as high as 200%.

But analysts said that, overall, the quarterly results had “more pluses than minuses.”

“All-in, this print could have been worse and should clear a fairly low bar heading into the quarter,” Leerink Partners analyst Michael Cherny said in a note.

Quarterly sales at the technology and analytics unit was $1.63 billion, compared with estimates of $1.60 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.

IQVIA’s total quarterly revenue rose 5.3% to $4.02 billion, beating analysts’ average estimate of $3.96 billion.

On an adjusted basis, it reported profit of $2.81 per share for the quarter ending June 30, above expectations of $2.77 per share.

IQVIA now expects annual adjusted profit per share between $11.75 and $12.05, compared with $11.70 to $12.10 earlier.

The Durham, North Carolina-based company also narrowed its annual revenue expectations to between $16.1 billion and $16.3 billion, from $16 billion to $16.4 billion earlier. The new forecast assumes a roughly $100 million COVID-related impact.

(Reporting by Siddhi Mahatole in Bengaluru; Editing by Sahal Muhammed)